Roundabout Pre-School

Newsletter

February 2016

Happy February everybody!!! We have made it through January, wind swept and wet so let’s keep hoping for some sunshine.

Christmas Fundraising

I would like to say a big thank you to all the children, staff, committee, parents and carers who helped us to raise over £320 over the Christmas period. The funds were raised by holding our raffle, the children’s bun sale, paying to watch the nativity and the sale of our Roundabout recipe books. I would like to say a special thankyou to our Chair Lauren Sheldon – who sourced the printing of the recipe book, as well as to our own Sarah – who spent a great deal of time collecting and wrapping up your donations to make the raffle prizes look so fabulous. Thank you to everyone who got involved – it was a great team effort.

The Roundabout Garden

Exciting things have been happening in the garden! We are very pleased to say that work has started. I’m sure you can appreciate, with the weather we have had over the last few months, that the garden had become extremely water-logged and muddy. So we are really happy that some of the ground has been re-surfaced with soft surfacing. We have also re-modelled the existing climbing frame and slide so as to encourage more outdoor den building and the children can now use the climbing wall more easily. But probably most exciting is the installation of the storytellers chair and benches – we now have a beautiful, bespoke giant storytelling chair, surrounded by benches for the children to sit on. This has created a lovely new reading area for the children to use both with adults and independently.

Still to happen: The water-logged, barked area is to be re-surfaced over February half term holiday and once the tarmac has had chance to settle we will be having a new road system marked out on it, as well as some number games printed out on the main part of the playground. Once the company have been out to measure up and provide us with some design ideas I will be asking the children to vote on what markings they would like – I will keep you posted as this happens. We are also waiting for the weather to pick up a little before we fully install our mud kitchen and pirate ship sandpit – exciting times to come!!!

One of our committee parents has kindly volunteered to tidy up our herb garden (when the weather improves), so if any other parents would be interested in helping please let me know. We would love to have a good tidy up before taking the children in to do some planting for the spring.

Staff training

I just wanted to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the importance that the Roundabout team place on continuous professional development. Over the course of this term we have/will be involved in lots of professional training, which we then utilise to improve the quality of care that we provide. Both Charlotte and I attended a seminar on Stage 1 Makaton training in January, which we hope to continue to filter into the room and to provide for children who may find some elements of communication difficult. Last week Carrie attended training for teachers and Early Years Practitioners on ‘The Foundations of Phonics’, which Carrie will be cascading down to all of our Practitioners on our next training day. Throughout March and April, I will be attending courses on ‘Emotional Connectivity with our Children’ and also ‘Narrowing the Gender Gap in Early Years’. Annie is very excited to be attending a course on ‘Nature Play in the Early Years’ in March – we are hoping this will be the icing on the cake following the improvements we are making to the outdoor area. I am confident that this commitment to training and extending our early years knowledge results in us being the strongest team that we can be.

Superhero Week and Beyond……

Superhero week was a fantastic success – thank you so much for getting on board with all the activities that we had going on. I want to thank the staff team for their continued enthusiasm and commitment to moulding the curriculum around children’s interests.

I also wanted to mention to all families that it is never a problem if children wish to continue attending Roundabout in fancy dress, or to bring a toy in that they wish to share with others. We want children to feel confident in making their own choices!

So, with this in mind we have recently asked the children what theme they would like to follow for our next topic. Out of a list of several, we have all agreed that ‘Animal Week’ would be the most popular/ inclusive to carry out – loads of our children follow animal themes within their imaginary play. As ever, please don’t feel any pressure to buy elaborate costumes – prop making will undoubtedly be part of the activities on offer. We would like to hold Animal Week from Monday 21st March until Thursday 24th March., (but will confirm these dates at the beginning of next half term). Please could you have a think if you, or anyone you know have any pets that they would be prepared to bring in for us to have a look at and discuss with the children. We are hoping to invite ‘The Animal Man’ (or Woman) in to show us some more unusual animals and to teach the children about them.

Fundraising Brick Build

It’s that time of year again!! Our fundraising brick build will be taking place during the first week back after February half term. We will be providing children with sponsorship forms to take home the week before we break up. The idea is extremely simple – children get their nearest and dearest to sponsor them a small amount per brick (they then attempt to build as tall a tower as possible while in Roundabout.) Please support us as best you can, this has always raised a good amount in the past and all of the children get a certificate for participating. We have a fantastic prize this year – Karen Gavin, our photographer at Roundabout, has kindly donated a photo session and framed photo as a prize. The family that raise the most funds for Roundabout will receive the prize! We would love to continue adding resources to our new outdoor area, using whatever we are able to raise.

Open Session for Parents and Children

All families should have received a letter last week about the open session we are offering to put on for those parents who do not get the opportunity to come into Roundabout very often. Please fill in the table and return it to us a.s.a.p. so that we can tailor the session to meet the needs of our families.

Lunchboxes

Thank you to all of those families that have labelled the outside of their child’s lunchbox (where possible!) We would like to reassure all parents that we follow a stringent safeguarding policy for children who suffer with food allergies (both their lunchbox and all lunchboxes on their tables are carefully checked). However, we do have several duplicate lunchboxes at the moment and unless clearly marked it is a possibility that children (whose lunchboxes are not checked due to not having a food allergy) may swap with someone who has the same lunchbox.

Coats

As well as lunchboxes, we also have several duplicate coats at Roundabout at the moment. Please ensure that all of your child’s coats, hats, etc are clearly labelled. Thankyou!

Dates for the Academic Year

Holiday

Roundabout Closes

Roundabout Opens

Spring mid term

Friday 12th February

Monday 22nd February

Easter Weekend

Thursday 24th March

Tuesday 29th March

Easter Break

Friday 1st April

Monday 18th April

May Bank Holiday

Friday 29th April

Tuesday 3rd May

Summer mid term

Friday 27th May

Monday 6th June

Summer

Wednesday 27th July

Newlaithes Training Days: (Roundabout will be closed to children on these days)

Our Staff

Adele

I am Adele and I am manager at Roundabout. I am currently qualified as a level 5 in childcare and management, my previous experience of 24 years has always been in full day care.
Out of the setting I spend a lot of time with my family outdoors, a hobby of mine is doing cross stitch (needle work).

Carrie

I am Carrie and I am Assistant to the Pre-School Manager at Roundabout. I have one son.
I have worked at Roundabout for over twelve years.

Claire

My name is Claire, I am married with one teenage son. I love animals and I have adopted many! In my free time I like to travel.

Debbie

I am Debbie and I have worked at Roundabout for twelve years.
I have three children and a dog called Skye. I enjoy walking and going to the theatre and concerts.

Annie

My name is Annie. I have two beautiful children. I started at Roundabout in February 2014. I enjoy dancing and being daft.

Sarah

I am married and have two children.
I have worked at Roundabout since 1992.
Out of pre-school I like to bake and cook and watch my son play Rugby on a Sunday morning. I also enjoy knitting (but not very good at it).

Kay

I am Kay and I have a little girl at Roundabout. I have just successfully completed my Level 3 Cache Childcare Course. I enjoy baking, arts and crafts with my children and walking our dog.